Happy 40th to me *Live from the bubble*

Day 6 DHS

Last day already?

Well, here it is, the report of our last park day... It was quite the emotional day with loads of ups and downs...

We arrived around 8:30. After hearing SO MANY great things about TSM we wanted to hit that first and with no FP we wanted to be early. Well, so did EVERYONE else. While waiting to get in I checked MDE and the times on our FP and WAIT WHAT???? My Rockin Roller Coaster one was gone?!?!?!?!?!? Turns out it was down and we had an open pass for almost everything BUT TSM of course... We still got there pretty quickly and the wait time was posted as 60 min. We waited about 25 to get on. It was awesome. I laughed the whole time. I beat Joe and reminded him of it all day (Well, until the 2nd time and he beat me) I was a beaver at 146,200 and Joe had 100,300.

After that we just roamed around a bit. We went thru Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground, Wandering Oakens, and all the streets. It was about 11 at this point and we just had a pastry at 6 so off to Starring Rolls. I wanted the Butterfinger Cupcake. We ended up with a mammoth turkey sandwich with mozzarella and pesto that was amazing. We also picked up a red velvet cheesecake cupcake. I was NOT impressed with the Butterfinger one. It was just white icing hiding under the chocolate/BF pieces shell and the cake was dry... Joe said his was good, I was uploading pics from the phone as he devoured his and didn't get a bite.

This brought us to our first FP, well 2nd since RRC was down... ToT. Now, I am terrified of going up things and being dropped. I love coasters but just drops, NO WAY! I promised I would try it. I tried to get out of it and finally Joe said "You don't have to do it." That's all I needed to hear! BUT, I did it anyway. sweaty palms, nausea, pounding heart and all. The line was torture and when we were finally on I almost bolted but we were off. After the elevator moved forward into place I looked up and could see thru the cage to the windows.... I almost pulled his arm off holding on.....But I did it and was all wobbly legs for a while.

We walked right into BATB right after that, got a great seat pretty close and it started as my butt hit the bench. Very short but cute and of course, I cried. I love that story and it always gets me. After we walked thru One Man's Dream and rode TGMR

After we browsed around a bit, kept checking to see if RRC was open and just taking it all in. We rode star tours twice and except for the first quarter, we had the EXACT same scenario.... BOOOOOOO

We had an early dinner at Studio Catering consisting of Buffalo chicken sandwich for me and sloppy joe for Joe. He liked this one better than the resort one. Chocolate pudding and banana pudding. Everything was pretty good, the bread on mine was a little hard but I think it was the type of bread.

We hopped in the "80 min" line for TSM again and only waited 50. We noticed the wait times were WAY off the entire trip (more on this later) Joe won this time and got kitty while I was still Beaver.

Now here is where my emotions take over. We waiting all day holding onto our open FP to see if RRC would ever open. Around 5:30 we went to a FP kiosk to use it on ToT. Well, lo and behold, we accidentally got on ST too early and it used it there.... They did fix it and hooked us up with ToT... Wouldn't you know it as we came off of ToT, RRC was open and the wait was already one hour ugguh. We hopped in line anyway and waited maybe 35 min... see, another botched wait time. It was AMAZING! I loved every single second of it. It was a first for us both and it invigorated us. By the time we got off, the only thing I wanted to do was go see the Osborne Lights. I cried! It was beautiful and the SNOW! It was magical! I could have stayed on that street until they had to haul me out of there! It was the PERFECT way to end our trip!

Yep, I said end... I am so sad but so ready to see Blondie. It's been a whirlwind of fun and memories and lucky me, we are seriously considering DVC, I can't tell you how happy this makes me. We may also bring Blondie to see the lights one weekend as a short trip. she will love it!

It's been fun sharing with you all. I will post final thought, highs, lows, observations and more pics after we get home! Have a magical day!

Preview	Attachment	Size
	That's us, front row left!	2.44 MB
	ahhhhh Christmas	3.55 MB

The first time I looked like that!!

First ride... top middle Joe is telling me to open my eyes and look out and I refuse!

Preview	Attachment	Size
	First ToT ride	2.57 MB

So here I am posting from home... *insert tears here* *still wearing my magic band*

We did go to the DVC "talk" this morning and I am about 90% sure we are going to do it! We've been discussing it for 2 years now and I guess it is time!

We had an uneventful trip home. We stopped in Jacksonville for lunch at 4 Rivers Smokehouse (there is a couple in Orlando and if you ever get off property, you should try it. They have AWESOME food) where we met up with another friend from Disney Foodies! When we got home we were locked out... We have a VW that has the big key you just push in and neither of us took our real keys Luckily mom didn't head back to Georgia today and she had to bring us a key. We were so ready to be home at this point...

anywho......

To begin with, we had a fantastic trip! The weather was great! Except that first night on top of the Contemporary but I dealt with it. We were pleased with the resort. We don't need all the frills but maybe DVC will change that. LOL There were several CMs who were outstanding to me (I will explain each in a bit) Crowds weren't bad at all!

DTD - WHAT A MESS. I took the bus so I didn't deal with parking thank goodness. I was so lost with all the walls up. I DID NOT like the Co-op. It seemed so spread out and random to me. I didn't like all the "sections" I guess. Starbucks got my drink wrong twice but they corrected it with a smile. Other than that, I accomplished everything I needed to do there.

EPCOT - Food and Wine, the reason we went! AMAZING!!! We tried 49 different items from the booths and then some food and drinks from a couple other places. A couple of things were charged to our Magicbands that should not have been. We asked to use the snack credits. The Sake Bar inside Mitsukoshi was wonderful! There was no one but us there. People actually saw what we were doing and came over as we were about to leave. The Grand Marnier Slush was everything I hoped it would be and more. Via Napoli was wonderful but the service was meh... Our server was "earning her ears" but still, we waited a LONG time in between visits.

MK - Other than 7DMT (and A&E Meet and Greet) lines weren't bad at all we rode tons! I still missed out on a couple but we will be back! We found a back less (WAY LESS) traveled path from Barnstormer to Space Mountain that we never knew was there. Shady, empty and quiet and FAST! LOL We used that path a couple times. MK had the freshest popcorn of all the parks, it was constantly popping and always hot when i got it. Not a lot bad to say here!

AK - The walls here threw me off a bit too. Where is the Avatar section going to be? I felt like the entire park was blocked off. I knew there is a lot going on but not that much. We did ask if all the construction was effecting any of the animals and they said they can't have the Okapi out because the noise agitates them. We also saw an Ankole Cattle with a dart in his butt, we never got an answer as to why. As we were leaving, the most amazing cast member Jennifer from Salem College asked if she could sing happy birthday to me. Of course I said yes. She asked English or Italian. Of course I picked Italian. Well, she did, it was beautiful and about made me cry. I gave her the biggest hug! She made my day! There was also a photographer Steve from New Market MD who was great. His line took a little longer but he interacted so well with everyone. I never got to fill anything out giving good reviews on the CMs, can I do that online somewhere?

DHS - CRAZY standby times day... we watched ToT jump from 20-70 minutes in the blink of an eye. We never waited as long as was posted. A friend of mine said she noticed it a lot on her trip also as if they are manipulating the times. Cupcakes at Starring Rolls were a major disappointment.

Since I have SO MANY pics, and I don't know how to link up the Facebook album, feel free to send me a friend request if you would like. I will post a couple more on here too! Most of what I post is coming out sideways... damn Fergus Syndrome... or it tells me no file selected... PS I LOVE LOVE LOVE Memory Maker and pics being hooked up to your band for the rides automatically! AWESOMESAUCE We got 223 pics! https://www.facebook.com/jmed1117

Thanks for following along and thanks again for all the help, advice, ideas and such before hand! I can't wait to be back!!!

DVC

Preview	Attachment	Size
	Dinosaur	1.29 MB
	BURRRRR Olaf!	3.79 MB
	Sake	2.49 MB
	Epcot	2.54 MB
	Hollywood Studios	3.24 MB
	Osborne Lights	3.48 MB
	Rocking Roller Coaster	926.58 KB
	Joe Kissing Minnie. I didn't even know he did this!	3.56 MB

We are between AKL and GF.

ahhh ha! Thanks! There was a truck parked nearby but they were just sitting there watching.

Thanks! They are amazing. And they make it snow, I swear to you it was 10 degrees colder on that street. Love the Disney magic!

So, Food and Wine a brief rundown of my favorites and ehhh not so much!

Top 3 food...

Bacon Hash from Farm Fresh - I could have this all day long
Tuna Poke from Hawaii - Tuna in all of it's pure goodness
Scallop with Spinach Cheddar Gratin- Perfectly seared and oh so tasty

Honorable mention - Crispy Pork Belly and Cheese Bread from Brazil

Top 3 Drinks...

Frozen Margarita with Tequila and Lemoncello from Italy - so refreshing and amazing taste
Frozen Caipirinha from Brazil - Super sweet and tangy, it reminds me of something I still can't quite place
Key Lime Wine from Farm Fresh - I loved it with the Bacon Hash, it balanced out the heat from the jalapenos

Honorable Mention - Meade Honey Wine - I did have this 4 times, you would think it was my favorite

Drinks NOT from booths
Grand Marnier Slush from France
Ume Kanon Plum Sake from the Sake Bar in Japan
Horchata Margarita from La Cava

The ehhhh, not so much

Beef Tenderloin from Africa - Nothing outstanding about this to me
Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup - YUCK! There was not a single thing about this I liked
Kefta Pcoket from Morocco - Kinda bland and boring

I left my pins at home so Joe got me a starter set and a pack I could trade, I ended up with some great ones and also purchased a few!

Preview	Attachment	Size
	Bacon Hash and Key Lime Wine	1.72 MB
	Tuna Poke	1.91 MB
	Scallop with Spinach Gratin	2.48 MB
	Pork Belly	2.32 MB
	Frozen Margarita	1.88 MB
	Frozen Caipirinha	929.1 KB
	I HAVE to find this stuff here!	2.56 MB
	Top left are my 2 favorite trades. The Elsa pin was here when I got home VIP Movie Club pin	1.03 MB

as soon as I could smell the honey I was hooked before I even tried it!!! I don't think I have ever had anything like it before!

The bacon hash recipe was posted on line, I will be making it soon!

Thanks so much!!! We had a blast. But everything we did we thought about how much fun Blondie would have and I think that is part of what really got us to seriously consider DVC this trip. The call is being made in the morning!

It is my least favorite ride... It always makes me queasy and I regret it every single time... LOL But I did it and got it over with early in the day and didn't look back!